With its distinctive pale yellow-green color, Nigerian fried rice commands the spotlight during every celebration, be it weddings, birthdays, or festive gatherings. It’s often enjoyed with other Nigerian favorites like Jollof rice, fried plantains, and tasty fried or grilled chicken.
I love making this dish, and as a proud Nigerian, I’m thrilled to share my special recipe with you. Whether it’s for your next get-together or everyday meals, this recipe captures the delicious flavors of Nigerian food.
Main ingredients for Nigerian fried rice
Vegetables: For authentic Nigerian fried rice, you’ll need carrots, long beans (green beans), green bell peppers, sweet corn (canned or frozen), peas, and green onions or scallions. Feel free to add or remove any vegetables to suit your taste buds.
Meats: Chicken, turkey, or beef are commonly used in Nigerian fried rice. Additionally, the traditional recipe includes cow liver or shrimp. However, you can omit them if you prefer.
Stock: Typically, Nigerian dishes start with homemade stock by boiling chicken or beef. But you can also use store-bought chicken or beef stock as a convenient alternative.
Spices: To achieve the distinctive flavor of Nigerian fried rice, you’ll need curry (the main spice), thyme, white pepper, chicken or beef bouillon cube, and salt.
Rice: While I used sella basmati rice, you can use any type of rice you prefer, as most varieties work well for this dish.
What rice works best for Nigerian fried rice?
Nigerian fried rice is traditionally made with long-grain parboiled rice, but you can also use short-grain, jasmine rice, or basmati rice. Personally, I particularly enjoy using sella basmati rice (which I used for this recipe) because it has a similar taste to the traditional long-grain rice and it looks and tastes really good. Here are some examples of my favorite rice brands:
For long-grain rice:
- Par Excellence long-grain rice
- Zatarain’s Enriched long-grain rice
- Golden Canilla parboiled rice
- Iberia parboiled long-grain rice
For sella basmati rice:
- Indian Gate sella basmati rice (USA)
- Royal sella basmati rice
- Tilda sella basmati rice
- Tropical Sun Golden sella basmati rice (U.K/Nigeria)
- Maharani basmati rice (Nigeria)
Simple steps to make Nigerian fried rice
Step 1: Season and cook chicken or beef, then separate the chicken from the broth.
Step 2: Cook the washed rice in the meat broth.
Step 3: Prepare and dice the vegetables, and thaw the frozen vegetables if you are using them.
Step 4: Clean, peel, devein, season, and cook the shrimp.
Step 5: Boil the beef liver, dice it, and fry it.
Step 6: Season and stir-fry the vegetables.
Step 7: Add the rice, cooked shrimp, liver, and green onions.
Step 8: Stir-fry the rice for 5 minutes.
Step 9: Serve and enjoy!
How to serve Nigerian fried rice
We usually serve Nigerian Fried rice with fried chicken, coleslaw (recipe coming soon), plantains, moi moi.
Why does my fried rice go bad so quickly?
Fried rice, regardless of its cultural variations, has a high vegetable content and the presence of moisture-rich ingredients like vegetables can accelerate the spoilage process.
A good way to avoid this is by frying the rice during the final stage of cooking.
By stir-frying the rice, you not only achieve a more flavorful dish but also reduce the overall moisture content.
So, whether you’re preparing Nigerian fried rice, Chinese-style fried rice, or any other variation, consider adding this frying technique to ensure that your fried rice stays fresher for longer.
Also Remember that it’s still important to follow proper food safety guidelines. Store leftover fried rice in airtight containers, refrigerate and consume within 5 days or store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Watch how to make it
Pro tips on making the best Nigerian fried rice
Here are some pro tips for making the best Nigerian fried rice:
- Cook the rice first and spread it out to allow it to cool down. This will help it fry better during the final cooking stage.
- Cook the rice in meat broth instead of water to infuse it with extra flavor.
- Cut the vegetables into small pieces to enhance the eating experience and ensure even distribution throughout the dish.
- Utilize a wok or large skillet for cooking. This will help with even heat distribution and aid in achieving the desired fried texture for the rice.
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 2000g 2kg whole chicken, cut up
- Handful of onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons thyme
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 crushed chicken bouillon cubes 2 knorr cubes
- 1 cup water
For the rice
- 4 cups rice
- Chicken broth reserved from boiling the chicken
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ to 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ½ bell pepper
- Oil for frying the chicken or oil spray for air frying
Veggies:
- 1 large carrot diced
- ½ green bell pepper diced
- 6 – 8 green beans
- 3 bunches of green onions
- ¼ cup peas
- ¼ cup sweet corn
Veggies seasoned with:
- ½ teaspoon chicken seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
For the shrimp:
- ½ lb shrimp
- Pinch of salt
- ¼ teaspoon chicken seasoning
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon oil for frying
For the liver:
- ½ lb beef liver
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 chicken seasoning cubes
- 1 cup of water
Instructions
Boil the chicken:
- In a large pot, add the chicken pieces, chopped onion, crushed garlic, thyme, curry powder, salt, crushed chicken bouillon cubes, mix thoroughly and cover to steam on low heat for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, add a little more water and let boil over medium heat for additional 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is a bit tender.
- Once cooked, separate the chicken from the broth and set it aside. Sieve and reserve the chicken broth for cooking the rice.
- Rinse the rice several times thoroughly until water runs clear.
- Add the washed rice to the reserved chicken broth (you can add water if broth is not enough). Add a pinch of salt, white pepper and curry powder. (Optional: Add bell pepper cut in big chunks to enhance the flavor of the rice)
- Cook the rice for about 20 minutes.
Fry the chicken:
- Heat oil in a deep pan or use oil spray for air frying. Remove the chicken pieces from the boiled chicken and fry them until golden brown and fully cooked. Drain the fried chicken on a paper towel to remove excess oil. Alternatively an airfryer can be used to fry the chicken. Spray chicken lightly with oil and airfry until golden brown.
Prepare the veggies:
- Peel and dice the carrot. Chop the green bell pepper, green beans, and green onions. Cut the vegetable really small to make the dish more enjoyable. Except of course you like larger cuts.
- Thaw and drain the other vegetables such as peas and sweet corn if they are frozen.
Fry the shrimp:
- Wash, devein and pat dry the shrimp. Season with salt, chicken seasoning and onion powder. In a wide pan or wok, heat a little oil and fry the seasoned shrimp on both sides for 3-4 minutes or until they turn pink and firm. Set aside.
Cook the liver:
- In a pot, add the beef liver, salt, chicken seasoning cubes, and water. Cook until the liver is tender. Remove from the pot, cut into small pieces and fry with little oil. Set aside
Stir-fry the veggies:
- In a large pan or wok, heat some oil and stir-fry the vegetables starting with the carrots and green beans for about a minute then add the peas and sweet corn.
- Season vegetables with crushed bouillon cubes, salt and white pepper or crushed chillies. Alternatively you can use scotch bonnet pepper instead. Fry for additional 1-2 minutes and add chopped bell peppers. Fry for 30 seconds and add cooled rice.
- Add the cooked rice to the pan with the stir-fried vegetables, fry on high heat. Make sure to keep stirring.
- Add the cooked liver and shrimp to the pan stir-fry for 1-2 minutes then add spring onions.
- Lastly, stir fry the rice for about 4 minutes on high heat stirring constantly.
- Serve hot, along with the fried chicken, coleslaw and enjoy!
Notes
- By boiling the chicken and using the broth to cook the rice, you’ll infuse the rice with additional flavor and richness from the chicken.
- Cutting vegetables uniformly ensures they cook evenly. It’s also makes the dish more visually appealing.
- Fluffing rice once it’s done makes it release its steam to stop it from cooking longer or making the rice soggy.
- Using a wok or wide pan helps distribute heat evenly which help the rice toast or fry better and faster
Followed this recipe and ended up making a very enjoyable and tasty meal! My family really loved this. Thank you so much!
You’re sure welcome.